The Church of the Brethren is engaged in a denomination wide conversation this year called the “Compelling Vision”. Conversations began at Annual Conference last summer, will continue in districts and with various constituency groups through the fall and winter, and culminate at Annual Conference in 2019. We are committed to engaging as many people as possible in the process, providing opportunities for individuals to give voice to their passions and concerns, listen to one another, and work together to identify common threads and themes that might point to a shared and compelling vision. If you are brand new to the church or have been here all of your life, your voice is needed as part of the conversation.

David Steele, General Secretary of the denomination, will be leading us in the conversation process on Saturday, February 9, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Papago Buttes congregation. Members from all Brethren congregations in Arizona are invited to join in the conversation in Scottsdale. Plan to arrive about 9:45 to get settled in so we are ready to begin at 10:00. Reservations are not required, but if you are planning to attend and can let us know with an email to frontdesk@pswdcob.org it will be helpful.

As the Brethren embark on this journey together, it is our prayer that: our relationships with one another will be strengthened and deepened; we will be able to celebrate the ongoing presence and activity of God’s Spirit at work among us; we will be open to what God is calling us to do together as Christ’s disciples; the vision ultimately articulated will lay claim to our hearts and our minds, our imaginations and our spirits, shaping our identity and inspiring our ministry at the congregational level, the district level, and the denominational level; and we will wholeheartedly embrace the challenge set before us by that vision, affirming contextual creativity as we actively seek to embody that vision.